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ENERAL PERSIFER F. SMITH, "of Louisiana," as he is generally designated, is a native of Philadelphia, and one of the bravest men and best soldiers in the army. He served in command of the Louisiana troops in the Florida war, and on the formation of the volunteer division was appointed colonel of the rifles. In six months he

was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general by brevet. This was for his services at Monterey. He led the right wing of Worth's division at the entering of that city, and fought his way through one street while Worth was engaged in the next with the other part of his division. This terrible warfare is thus described by S. C. Reid, Esq., in his work on the Scouting Expeditions of McCulloch's Texas Rangers.

"Every street was barricaded with heavy works of masonry, the walls being some three or four feet thick,

Street fight in Monterey.

with embrasures for one or more guns which raked the streets; the walls of gardens and sides of houses were all loop-holed for musketry; the tops of the houses were covered with troops, who were sheltered behind parapets, some four feet high, upon which were piled sand bags for their better protection, and from which they showered down a hurricane of balls.

Between three and four o'clock, from the cessation of the fire in the opposite direction, it was evident that the enemy had become disengaged, which enabled them to draw off men and guns to our side, as their fire had now become almost doubly increased. The street-fight became appalling-both columns were now closely engaged with the enemy, and steadily advanced inch by inchour artillery was heard rumbling over the paved streets, galloping here and there, as the emergency required, and pouring forth a blazing fire of grape and ball-volley after volley of musketry, and the continued peals of artillery became almost deafening-the artillery of both sides raked the streets, the balls striking the houses with a terrible crash, while amid the roar of battle were heard the battering instruments used by the Texans. Doors

were

forced

open, walls were battered down-entrances

made through the longitudinal walls, and the enemy driven from room to room, and from house to house, followed by the shrieks of women, and the sharp crack of the Texan rifles. Cheer after cheer was heard in proud and exulting defiance, as the Texans or regulars gained the house-tops by means of ladders, while they poured in a rain of bullets upon the enemy on the opposite houses. It was indeed a most strange and novel

scene of warfare.'

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Battle of Contreras.

In history General Smith will be best known as the hero of Contreras. An article in the New York Courier and Inquirer, giving an account of this battle, contains the following passages. "About two P. M., as we had crawled to the top of a hill, whither we had been ourselves pulling Magruder's battery and the mountain howitzers, we suddenly espied Valencia fortified on a hill two hundred yards off, and strongly reinforced by a column which had just come out of the city. We lay down close to avoid drawing their fire, while the battery moved past at a full gallop. Just then General Smith's manly voice rung out, Forward the rifles-to support the battery.' On they went, till we got about eight hundred yards from the work, when the enemy opened upon them with his long guns, which were afterwards found to be sixteens and eight-inch howitzers. The ground was the worst possible for artillery, covered with rocks large and small, prickly pears and cactus, intersected by ditches filled with water and lined with maguey plant, itself imperviable to cavalry, and with patches of corn which concealed the enemy's skirmishers, while it impeded our own passage. The artillery advanced but slowly, under a most tremendous fire, which greatly injured it before it could be got in range, and the thickness of the undergrowth caused the skirmishers thrown forward to lose their relative position, as well as the column. About four the battery got in position under a most murderous fire of grape, canister, and round shot. Here the superiority of the enemy's pieces rendered our fire rugatory. We could get but three pieces in battery, while they had twenty-seven, all of them three times the calibre of ours. For two hours

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